Quality in Business Terms - Research Paper Example

Quality in Business Terms Introduction Quality in business has a pragmatic and sensible interpretation as the superiority or non-inferiority of some products or services or something that has a value. The following report includes the discussion of the term quality within the framework of business. The report includes the meaning of quality in general and what it means in terms of business. The report discusses the quality of something related to business that has fitness for purpose. Quality can be conditional, perpetual or subjective with respect to different businesses and different people. The concept quality is seen differently by different people and different businesses. Quality is also judged differently by different departments within the businesses (Reeves & Bednar, 1994). Quality is judged differently by customers of the business so the business also has to look at the customer’s perspective of perceiving quality. Like we can say the quality for the producer of the products is differently perceived and is measured based on the conformance of quality or may also be judged based on the degree to which the service or product has been produced in a correct way (Lee, Strong, Kahn & Wang, 2002). The report further dwells on the analysis of the term quality within the context of five aspects and has a conclusion based on the overall analysis. Quality in Business Terms In this competitive business world the term quality in terms of business can be defined as meeting the expectations and needs of the customers and consumers of the service and products. Quality in business is the relation between the business, its product and customer. Through continuous assessment, analysis and by meeting all needs of customer, process, business and its employees, this relation is maintained. Quality may include several aspects in business terms but there is no specific definition in which quality can be defined. The term business is dynamic and cannot be summarized in single area of working (Huxtable, 1994). Quality in business can be defined in various ways. One way is to define quality in terms of the relationship which business shares with its product and customers. The other way of defining quality in terms of business can be through customer’s perception of how they value the product. The human factor and process cannot be separated, thus, when a quality is built and provided in a product it generates attachment, feelings and emotions within creator of the product. When this product brings smiles on customer’s face, then here quality is probably achieved. The product is of low quality if the potential customer does not find it is worth buying. But this definition of quality in business is not applicable everywhere. When it comes to manufacturing or industry then the quality is perceived as the relation between a product and a customer (Gordon, 2002). The definition of quality in business terms depends on the purpose. But whatever purpose we take, the main factor would always be satisfying customers’ need and meeting their expectations. If it’s about the customer then quality is meeting their needs and exceeding their expectations. Expectations may include performance of product, its appearance, availability when required, delivery, reliability, price and cost effectiveness of the product, as well as its maintainability. And if quality is about the company then it involves satisfying the ever-changing needs of customers, employees, vendors through constant improvement, evaluation, and continuous process of communication and education. Thus, it is necessary to identify such needs at an early stage of product’s development cycle. Quality in business in practice can be explained in two ways (Mertins & Jochem, 1999). First is External quality which is related to satisfaction of clients. It can be achieved by providing products or services meeting their expectations while establishing loyalty of customers. Second is internal quality in business which is related to internal operations of company. Its purpose is to spot and rectify the dysfunctions of organization while help it towards efficient and effective operations. The management and employees of the company would be its beneficiaries (Hakes, 1991). Five aspects of quality in business terms Quality in business terms can be grouped into five aspects, these aspects judge the quality for different areas of business this includes: Producing: The aspect of quality in any business is seen firstly when any business produces something. When any business tries to provide something it looks on the aspect of the quality and this is judged on different forms. Quality in terms of production can be defined in simple terms as producing something that meets the need, wants and expectations f customers. In terms of production quality can be defined in terms of design, functionality, reliability, consistency, value for money, appropriate and good after sales service and durability of the product manufactured. Quality in production is also seen as the proper running of the production process from the transformation of the raw material to finished goods. The production process includes several processes, which are used to transform the raw materials into finished goods (Krishna, 2003). All this process includes the checking of quality at each stage of transformation in order to ensure the production of goods and services as per the standards maintained by the business. Checking – This is one of the main aspects which are associated with the quality issue in any business enterprise. Checking includes confirming of the stages and steps in the production or manufacturing process that something or everything has been done in a correct manner. This is the quality assurance process which is used in the manufacturing organizations. Under this the organizations look at the processes done in order to ensure that all the functions have been done in a correct and appropriate manner as per the standards set. Checking is one of the most vital parts in business terms when it comes to quality. Checking ensures the confirmation of the product quality after its completion and to be delivered to the vendor for selling to the ultimate customers. Checking ensures the acceptability of goods by customers in terms of their needs and wants. Checking makes the business ensure about the quality of the product which it will sell in the market and to the ultimate user (Gabriel & Rosenthal, 2003). Quality Control – Quality control is also one of the vital aspects in the quality management process of the business. Quality control is the process of ensuring the outcomes that are predictable. This is the step which is used in the production process for the review of quality of all the factors of production. The quality control in business presses emphasis on majorly three aspects, i.e. firstly on job management, controls and well managed processes and also the identification of the records; secondly, on the competence like skills, qualification, experience and knowledge, and, thirdly, on the soft elements like confidence, motivation, organizational culture, quality relationships and so on. Quality control includes the inspection of the product measuring all the three above stated aspects; the quality may be compromised if any of the three aspects is missing. Quality control includes the testing of products manufactured and reporting to the management in order to take decisions regarding the allowing or denying of the product release (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berr, 2010). Quality Management – This is also one of the major aspects which need to be considered while defining quality in businesses. Quality management includes directing an organisation or firm regarding its functioning so that it can optimise its performance through improvement and analysis. The term quality management has similar meanings for different kinds of business. The quality management does not assure of good quality but it tries to ensure that the product or organization is consistent with four main principals, i.e. planning of quality, controlling quality, assuring quality and improvement of the quality. Quality management in businesses not only applies to the products or services manufactured but also apply to the means which are required to achieve it. Quality management also includes the development of the procedure which is required to ensure the quality of products and services and achieve the aims and objective of business in an appropriate and timely manner (Leatherman, 2003). Quality Assurance – Quality assurance is also one of the vital aspect in the defining the quality in business context. Quality assurance denotes the obtaining of confidence that a service or product will be satisfactory. Quality assurance includes the systematic implementation of the quality management systems in order to fulfil the quality requirements for any product or service. Quality assurance entails the systematic implementation, measurement, monitoring of standard and processes. This measures the fit for the purpose i.e. this means that the product must be suitable for the purpose for which it is manufactured or intended. Quality assurance in business also includes the management of quality of the raw materials, products, assemblies, services related to production, components and also the production, management and the inspection process (Leatherman, 2003). All the above stated aspects are highly associated with the quality in terms of the business. Whenever there is any discussion about the quality in business all these aspects are vital to be discussed. For addressing quality in terms of any kind of business these aspects are required to be analyzed, evaluated and discussed. Conclusion It can be concluded from the above discussion that quality cannot be defined specifically in terms of business, as different businesses and processes have different meaning of quality. In general terms quality can be said to be meeting the needs and expectations of the customers. It can also be concluded that the search for the universal definition of the term quality in business context has yielded consistent results. The global definition for the term quality does not exist and different definitions are available and can be appropriate for different circumstances. From the analysis it can also be concluded that the term quality in the long run is the only factor that can affect the performance of any business as compared to that of the business competitors. It can also be concluded that for judging or defining the quality of any business it is vital to analyze five aspects which will provide proper evaluation of the quality of any business; these mainly include producing, checking, quality control, management, and assurance. From the analysis it can also be said that quality is one of the most vital aspects which determines the long-term success of any business. Quality in business encompasses several components and defining them all is difficult so it is vital to define quality first in order to analyze the nature of business and then define the components associated with it in order to outline the quality standards. References Gabriel, S.A., & Rosenthal, S.S. (2003). Quality of the business environment versus quality of life: Do firms and households like the same cities. Retrieved on 6th November, 2012 from http://www.usc.edu/schools/price/lusk/research/pdf/wp_2003-1007a.pdf Gordon, J. (2002). Six sigma quality for business and manufacture. Elsevier. Hakes, C. (1991). Total quality management: The key to business improvement. Springer. Huxtable, N. (1994). Small business total quality. Springer. Krishna, S. (2003). Information technology business models for quality health care: An EU/US dialogue. IOS Press. Leatherman et al. (2003). The business case for quality: case studies and an analysis. Journal of health affairs, 22, 2. 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